Zenith TransOceanic Battery

Two views of the battery used in tube-powered Zenith TransOceanic portables.
Weighing more than many modern radios, this massive unit is
actually a battery pack delivering two different voltages
(90 volts and 9 volts) from two groups of cells.

A four-prong
metal connector protrudes from the top of the cardboard case, which
is 14 inches long. When installed in the radio, the battery lies
on its side, with the metal connector facing the back of the radio.

If you run across one of these, don't throw it away! It's unlikely
to have any juice left, and the insides of old batteries
usually contain nasty chemicals. But the casing makes a nice
container for a homemade battery pack.

If nothing else, you can
toss the insides and keep the casing inside your TransOceanic
for added authenticity.

The second photo shows the battery's insides.

The 9-volt section is to the left, inside its own cardboard
casing. The 90-volt section is to the right. As you can see,
that section is built up from gangs of individual cells wired together.
Each little red button is a cell; they have a waxy coating and
are quite shiny.

The 90-volt section also has a cardboard inner casing,
which I removed for this photo. At the top of the photo is the
connector, which I turned sideways to give a better view.

Some of the button cells in this unit have swelled up a bit
over time, causing some buckling in the 90-volt section. As a result,
the insides just barely fit in the outer casing, and I had a heck
of a time squeezing everything back in after taking these photos!

I have a second battery in better condition, but that one's on display
in my office at work, where I keep a couple of TransOceanics and
some other favorite sets.

All tube TransOceanics can run on AC power, and these batteries
were very heavy, as well as expensive. Add the fact that
they're not rechargable, and it's no wonder you don't see these
very often. I suspect that many TransOceanic owners got sick of
buying batteries and simply ran the radio on AC power.

This battery isn't manufactured any more, so if you don't
want to use AC current directly, you can either wire up your own battery
pack using modern batteries or obtain an AC-powered DC power supply.